Free Trade Agreement Of The Americas Research Articles

Remarks by Jorge Kamine

If we focus on the past sixty years, which coincides with the founding of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), we can unequivocally say that there have been a number of notable and successful examples of “multilateralism” in Latin America in the context of economic development and integration. This assumes we define “multilateralism” broadly as groups of countries in Latin America (1) cooperating or participating in institutions, organizations, and initiatives that include more than two countries; (2) which include among their goals or objectives the advancement of economic development or economic integration in the region; and (3) which have produced or resulted in some economic outcome or benefit for the participating countries that we generally believe could not have been achieved by one country alone. While this definition may not perfectly follow John Ruggie's definition, my formulation of the definition of “multilateralism” ensures that we do not overlook or discount important examples of institutions formed by Latin American states and other states that are based on principles to address issues of common concern, namely economic development in the region. The advances and benefits that have been achieved through these institutions have been significant even if the more ambitious (and perhaps more aspirational) goals over the years of certain Latin American political leaders of a broader inter-American political and economic integration modeled on the European Union or even the narrower (but also ambitious) goal of projects focused on economic integration, like the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), have not been fully achieved. Based on the definition that I have proposed of “multilateralism” with its focus on economic development, I would highlight some common features of the examples and cases where we have seen successful multilateralism and common features of the challenges that have been encountered in advancing multilateralist projects.

La visita de Obama y el giro de las relaciones entre Argentina y Estados Unidos

Dos décadas después de la visita de Bill Clinton a Carlos Menem, durante la época del alineamiento de Argentina con Estados Unidos (las llamadas “relaciones carnales”, según la metáfora del entonces canciller argentino Guido Di Tella), Barack Obama volvió al confín del continente. George W. Bush había estado en el país en noviembre de 2005, pero en el marco de la IV Cumbre de las Américas, cuando se rechazó el proyecto del Área de Libre Comercio de las Américas (alca). ¿Por qué Obama viajó hasta la Argentina en este momento? ¿Qué cambios se avizoran en la relación bilateral, luego de una década de tensos vínculos? ¿Qué acuerdos se alcanzaron en esta visita? ¿Cómo impacta el acercamiento entre Washington y Buenos Aires en las relaciones interamericanas?

DR-CAFTA: An Impact Analysis Thus Far

The signing of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and its subsequent implementation in 2006 by El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the United States, with Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic entering the agreement in 2009, renaming it the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), continued trade liberalization trends in Latin America. Economists, scholars, and politicians alike view NAFTA and DR-CAFTA as a movement towards an even more ambitious Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) and economic integration of the region from Canada to the southern cone. The present study does not discuss NAFTA or FTAA in detail, but rather elucidates the impact DR-CAFTA has had on member nations since their respective entrance. The study does so by first examining historical, economic, and political context and forces in Latin America. Second, DR-CAFTA its stipulations and arguments for and against the agreement are discussed. Next, regression analyses shed light on the impact of DR-CAFTA on trade and GDP growth in participating countries. Finally, future consequences of DR-CAFTA are elaborated.

Emerging Visions of Another world? Tensions and Collaboration at the Quebec Social Forum

The Quebec Social Forum (QSF) took place 23-26 August 2007 in Montreal. It attracted about 5000 people from across Quebec. Both organizers and observers viewed the event as an unqualified success. In this article, we seek to describe and document this historic gathering and to understand it in its Quebec context, against the larger organizing process which produced it. We also situate the Social Forum, both as event and process, within the longer history of social mobilization in Quebec. Historicizing the Social Forum in this way helps us interpret its cleavages and conflicts more adequately and apprehend its larger significance. We argue that the conflicts that have plagued the organizing of the Quebec Social Forum are a reprise of those that appeared in the movement in the late 1990s and came to a head in the 2001 massive demonstrations against the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas in Quebec City. The chasm then was widely perceived as one over tactics but we argue, then and now, it is more substantive than that. It is about the clash of profoundly different ethics, practices and theories of democracy and, beneath them, different horizons of hope and visions of transformation. The organizing of the Social Forum is the occasion for this debate, which may say something about the significance of the Social Forum more generally and the challenge it poses to established cultures and practices of politics on the left. The cleavage is generational but not only or simply. It signals a struggle and transition but the outcomes are not yet clear and are certainly not pre-ordained.

GRAVITY, BILATERAL AGREEMENTS, AND TRADE DIVERSION IN THE AMERICAS

Krishna (1998) shows that a bilateral agreement between two countries render a multilateral agreement less attractive if the bilateral agreement is trade diverting. This paper combines Krishna’s model with the empirical approach of Anderson and van Wincoop (2003) to show that the estimated effect of tariffs in a multiple country (n>3) context over time measures trade diversion. We apply this measure to new asymmetric, time-varying Latin American trade and tariff data using Anderson and van Wincoop’s (2003) nonlinear estimation approach and OLS. The results show an increase in trade diversion as sub-regional trade agreements proliferated and enthusiasm for the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas declined

Coca Substitution and Free Trade in Bolivia: The Pending Crisis

AbstractThis paper uses the factors proportion model of production and trade with ten inputs to analyze the potential impact of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) on the coca substitution program in Bolivia. With six crops including coca, the model produces comparative statics elasticities of changing prices on factor prices and output. Results show that the coca substitution program with free trade will result in large income redistribution in the coca‐producing region as a result of increased competition from larger and more efficient economies. Increased subsidies and institutional changes will be needed to sustain the coca substitution program in the long run.

Efficiency and Revenue Issues in the Jamaican External Trade Sector

This article is concerned with issues of the efficiency and revenue aspects of the current Jamaican taxes on trade, including tariffs, other charges, and customs valuation questions. It also considers revenue implications of further Jamaican tariff liberalization through the World Trade Organization as a member of the Caribbean Community and through the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. Finally, it comments on the scope for integrating tariff reform with reforms in domestic taxes to recoup potential revenue losses and increase the efficiency of the tax system.

Workers and trade liberalization: simulating the potential impact of the FTAA on Venezuela's output and wages

The Specific Factors model of production and trade with seven skilled labour categories and specific capital in three leading sectors of the Venezuelan economy is used to produce comparative static elasticities of changing prices on factor prices and output as a result of the emerging Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). Results show that every labour group except production labour is projected to lose under free trade, while manufacturing capital gains at the expense of capital in agriculture and services due to a projected increase in export demand. Adjustments to free trade are large implying the importance of economic policy in the transition period to free trade.

Es gibt Alternativen zur ALCA

The Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) could not be set up in the way and time the US-Government firstly wanted. Among others, one of the main reasons was the wide spread network resistance that involved trade unions, social movements and grass roots organizations from North and South America, who worked together to pressure their governments to stop negotiations. A new space for action has emerged in the last few years with the election of left-wing Presidents in South America, converging interest of governments with demands from social movements to overcome neoliberal regional integration. A concrete alternative project against FTAA came up from the cooperation agreement between Venezuela und Cuba, but extended to other countries: The "bolivarian" Alternative for the Americas and Caribbean (ALBA) seeks to establish solidary ways of integration in Latin America.

Contesting Free Trade

The effort to unite the economies of the western hemisphere into a single free trade agreement was initiated at the Summit of the Americas in Miami in 1994. The timetable established was for completion of the agreement by 2005. This article analyzes the efforts that have arisen over the last six years in opposition to the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). Opposition coming from both governments in Latin America and civil society throughout the hemisphere have threatened to derail the whole process. This article details the political arguments that have been mounted against the FTAA and also provides an analysis of the myriad tactics employed by the anti-FTAA movement.

Multinational Firms' Responses to Integration of Latin American Markets

This paper discusses how MNCs reacted to NAFTA and MERCOSUR in terms of their investment and operations patterns in three sectors - automotive, electronics, and apparel - and assesses the likely impact of the upcoming Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). It shows that NAFTA functioned – at least in its first years - as an investment relocation engine, while MNCs' reaction to MERCOSUR was significant only in the automotive sector. The emergence of China and other Asian economies, with their low cost and vast markets, and the progressive enlargement in the scope of MNCs operations, seem to diminish the economic relevance of NAFTA and MERCOSUR. FTAA may provide a new impetus to the integration of the automotive industry in the Americas, and a stronger rationale for a slowdown of plant relocation to Asia in light industries such as electronics and garments. But it is unlikely that it will reverse current trends which point to Asia – with China at the epicenter – as the global magnet for manufacturing and exports.

Doing business in Brazil: A strategic approach

AbstractBrazil has the largest economy in South America, and the second largest in Latin America, offering one of the most promising markets in the world. Along with China and India, Brazil is ranked among the nations with the highest predicted development rates in the next 25 years.In the early 2000s, Brazil accounted for 56% of all foreign direct investment flows to South America and 52.5% of the foreign direct investment stock in South America. Brazil is also a key player in the design and development of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), which is scheduled to be effective by 2005. The FTAA is expected to be the world's largest regional trading block.In 2002, Brazil was ranked twelfth amongst the largest economies in the world. Brazil is one of the world's “Big Five” emerging markets, along with China, India, Mexico, and Indonesia. In the past decade, Brazil was second to China among emerging economies for received foreign direct investment.This article elaborates on the main aspects of doing business in Brazil and discusses some of the challenges and opportunities facing the Brazilian economy. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

FREE TRADE AND INCOME REDISTRIBUTION IN COLOMBIA

The Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) is an effort to unite the economies of South, Central, and North America by 2005. Each member country will have to adjust to free trade and the various sectors of each economy will adjust differently. This paper uses a specific factor model of production to predict the magnitude of output changes and income redistribution in Colombia with the FTAA. Adjustments in outputs and factor prices in the model are large.

Brazil and Mexico—Partners in sowing a free trade area of the Americas

AbstractThe second half of 2000 brought renewed interest to the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). This hemispheric economic integration initiative presents numerous opportunities and challenges for each of the 34 countries involved in unifying markets across the Americas. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Mercosur, the region's two largest trading blocs, play a vital role in any attempt to integrate Latin American markets. Integration under Mercosur has strengthened the position of member countries—especially Brazil, which is a choice location for foreign direct investment and has realized a significant growth in extra‐Mercosur trade. The newly elected Mexican president, Vicente Fox, has demonstrated a strong desire to bring Mexico to the forefront of hemispheric trade negotiations and brings a new dynamic to integration of Latin American markets and to the FTAA initiative. This article elaborates on the role of the two largest Latin American economies and the United States in the creation and solidification of a hemispheric trading bloc in the Americas. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Desperately Seeking Sanctuary: Learning from APEC, or Not PUTTING THE APE BACK IN APEC

As I continue to shape and sequence my thoughts about the educational value and implications of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) meetings in Quebec City, and their place in a series in many ways inaugurated in Seattle and most recently sustained in Genoa, the media in Canada are working over the Hughes Report.

Regional Integration and Development in Small States

The author examines the impact of various trade policies for small developing states in the face of changing international trends - including globalization, the proliferation of regional integration agreements, the changing relationship between African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union (EU), the erosion of ACP preferences in the EU market, the Everything-But-Arms Initiative (a 2001 EU initiative providing forty nine developing countries free access to EU markets), and the negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. The author concludes that: 1) The participants in South-South regional integration agreements should further reduce their external trade barriers. 2) The trade component of the Cotonou Agreement between the ACP countries and the EU is likely to harm those countries. The ACP countries should liberalize their trade regimes to reduce the size of transfers to the EU. 3) Small states should sign free trade agreements with the rest of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and pursue multilateral liberalization. 4) Small states, and other developing countries should intensify South-South regional cooperation in the area of regional public goods. 5) The EU, and other OECD countries should provide country-specific technical assistance forbehind the borderreforms in small states - something specified in the Cotonou Agreement for ACP countries - as well as assistance in implementing their commitments under World Trade Organization agreements.

Xeno-Racism and International Migration

from the issues of other migrants. In a liberal democratic context the problems of refugees and asylum seekers need to be addressed through internationally accepted and agreed mechanisms. Yet, these issues are generally subsumed under immigration laws. Historically, domestic immigration laws that govern the selection, importation, regulation, exploitation, and control of labour have been racist. This exemplifies the contradiction/dilemma that has been central to the nation-building process of white settler colonies. On the one hand states espouse the values of liberal democracy. However, on the other, the core of these states is colonial and racist because of their historical formation that was deeply rooted in racism and colonialism. Immigration policy cannot be separated from labour and by logical extension also from the movement of global capital. Capitalism and globalization require cheap labour. Global capital moves without borders to where cheap labour is readily available. International instruments like the General Agreement on Trade in Services (), the North American Free Trade Agreement (), and the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas () facilitate and enhance the free movement of capital, while labour from the so-called Third World is locked within their national spaces and blocked from entering the West, stigmatized by a discourse concerning the “undesirables”: illegal immigrants, aliens, economic migrants, and bogus refugees. In the process, economic inequalities are generated, which force people to migrate to places where they can sell their labour. Simultaneously, Introduction This special issue of Refuge marks the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance convened by the United Nations General Assembly from August  to September , . The conference is taking place in the context of rising xenophobia and anti-refugee sentiment in the public discourse as well as increasingly restrictive laws in the North, accompanied by a powerful juggernaut called globalization. Migration is a key area where racism and discrimination continue to pervade all levels of policy and institutional practice. While refugee issues are expected to be part of the official conference agenda, we have proposed this special issue to further animate the debates and discussions surrounding racism and migration in the international context.

Convergence of rules of origin in preferential trade agreements: the case of the free trade agreement of the Americas

Convergence of rules of origin in preferential trade agreements: the case of the free trade agreement of the Americas